A new grocery anchor tenant is finalizing a deal to move into Country Club Plaza, which will set up a raft of other new leases in the form of a movie theater, gym and two discount stores, according to the company that financed the mall’s sale last week.

Executive vice president Felix Gutnikov of Thorofare Capital in Los Angeles said the pending deal for a grocer, which he did not name, helped convince his firm the sale was a good move to back. Winco Foods reportedly has been interested in the mall for some time.

“These guys are well capitalized with a good plan,” Gutnikov said of EDM Realty Corp., which bought the mall from LaeRoc Partners Inc. for a reported $20 million. “With the grocery anchor and what’s to come, it’s going to be a whole new life for that mall.”

Gutnikov said EDM Realty, which has not directly confirmed the deal, has a better background in managing retail properties than LaeRoc, which is usually more focused on offices. Because of what EDM paid, the company also will be in better position in terms of packages to offer potential tenants, he said, especially compared to the previous owners, who paid $57.6 million for the mall in 2006.

Though hard hit by the recession and having lost several stores in recent years, Country Club Plaza also is in a good spot in terms of demographics and location, with more than 80,000 cars passing by each day and 126,000 people in a three-mile radius. In addition, Gutnikov said, neighboring retail has 9 percent vacancy, a figure that’s been declining in recent years.

“We felt like the prospects of repositioning the center were attractive,” he said.

New leases and tenants for the mall should be announced within the next six months if not sooner, Gutnikov said, pointing out those planned new arrivals are both in short supply in the neighborhood and resistant to forces buffeting many stores, such as competition from online retailers.

“The types of tenants these guys talk to make sense for today’s regional outlet,” he said.